My English bulldog is throwing up and wont eat

Customer Question

Hello & welcome, I am Dr. B, a licensed veterinarian and I would like to help you with your wee one today.How long has he had these signs?Can he keep water down?Are his gums pink or pale/white? Moist or sticky?If you press on his belly, does he have any discomfort, tenderness, or tensing?Could he have eaten something he should not have (ie bones, toys, plants, chemicals, etc)?Has he had any diarrhea?

Hello again,I have not heard back from you. Still, considering how young Buddy is and how serious these signs are for him, I do want to leave my thoughts for your return. Now I would first note if there is any chance he ate something harmful, has belly pain, pale gums, or cannot even keep water down; we'd want him seen urgently. Otherwise, if those aren't an issue, we'd assume that his upper GI signs may be due to a bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, parasites/protozoa infections, or general dietary indiscretions. With those in mind, in Buddys’ case, the nausea that is causing him to vomit will also be what is putting him off his food. Therefore, we need to tackle that for him now. With this all in mind, as long as he can keep water down, we can try some home supportive care to try to settle his stomach. To start, if he hasn’t just vomited (since otherwise we’d need to rest his stomach for a few hours first), then you can consider treating him with an antacid. Common OTC pet safe options would be: Pepcid (More Info/Dose @http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/famotidine-pepcid), Zantac (More Info/Dose @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/ranitidine-hcl-zantac), or Tagamet (More Info/Dose Here @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/cimetidine-hcl-tagamet). Whichever you choose, we’d give this 20 minutes before offering food to allow absorption. Of course, do double check with your vet if he has a known health issues or is on any medications you haven't mentioned. Though I would note that if you give this and he cannot keep it down due to nausea that is usually a red flag that we need to bypass his mouth with injectable anti-vomiting medication from his vet. Though if he can keep that down and once he is steadier on his stomach, you can consider starting him on a light/easily digestible diet. Examples you can use are cooked white rice with boiled chicken, boiled white fish, cottage cheese, or scrambled eggs (made with water and not milk). There are also OTC vet diets that can be used (ie Hill’s I/D or Royal Canin’s sensitivity) too. The aim of these diets is that they will be better tolerated/absorbed by the compromised gut. Therefore, it should get more nutrients in and result in less GI upset. As long as improvement is being seen, I usually advise continuing this until the signs are settled, and then weaning him slowly back to his normal diet. Since dehydration is a risk for a dog this young, we need to keep an eye on his hydration. To check this and ensure he’s not becoming dehydrated, there are a few things you can test. Further to checking for gum moisture, you will want to make sure his eyes are not looking sunken and that he doesn’t have a "skin tent" when you lift the skin. To see how to check these parameters for dehydration, you can find a good video HERE (http://www.ehow.com/video_12232503_dog-dehydrated.html). If you are seeing any signs of dehydration already, then that would be our cue to have him seen before this becomes an additional issue for him (especially as it is often dehydration that makes them feel unwell). Overall, a wide range of agents could trigger the GI upset we are seeing. Therefore, in his case, we’d want to start supportive care to settle his stomach. If he cannot keep that or water down, appears dehydrated already, or doesn’t respond to the above within 12-24 hours; then we'd want to get his vet involved. They can assess his hydration, rule out fever, make sure there is nothing in his stomach that shouldn't be there or any sinister viruses present. Depending on their findings, his vet can treat him with injectable anti-vomiting medication +/- antibiotics to settle his stomach, and get him back feeling like himself. Please take care,Dr. B. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you have any other questions, please ask me &ndash; I’ll be happy to respond. *Please remember to rate my service once you have all the information you need, as this is the only way I receive credit for helping you today. Thank you! : )